23 credit hours.. help me?

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Lindsayvarkula

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Okay, so before you tell me "YOU'RE NUTS" hear me out for a second.

here is the breakdown of my credits.. 9 for music classes (I am a violin performance minor), 1 for research, 2 for co-teaching a lab class... this leaves only 11 for "academic hours" (including: ochem, ochem lab, cell bio and english comp).

I'm struggling a little to keep up with my work, so plan A is to drop english and take it at a different time. I would drop something in music, but I am bound to it by scholarship.. and I think research and teaching are good experiences.

But, how are med schools going to view my situation, when my only science classes for the semester are ochem and cell biology?

I will still be taking 20 credit hours, but only 8 of them are "academic".. I know I can handle the pressure of 21 credits because thats what I did last semester and got a 4.0

ADVICE PLEASE! my main concern is the whole "how is med school going to view this academically lacking semester?" will they see music courses as "blow off courses"?

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
Okay, so before you tell me "YOU'RE NUTS" hear me out for a second.

here is the breakdown of my credits.. 9 for music classes (I am a violin performance minor), 1 for research, 2 for co-teaching a lab class... this leaves only 11 for "academic hours" (including: ochem, ochem lab, cell bio and english comp).

I'm struggling a little to keep up with my work, so plan A is to drop english and take it at a different time. I would drop something in music, but I am bound to it by scholarship.. and I think research and teaching are good experiences.

But, how are med schools going to view my situation, when my only science classes for the semester are ochem and cell biology?

I will still be taking 20 credit hours, but only 8 of them are "academic".. I know I can handle the pressure of 21 credits because thats what I did last semester and got a 4.0

ADVICE PLEASE! my main concern is the whole "how is med school going to view this academically lacking semester?" will they see music courses as "blow off courses"?

THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE
Click to expand...

Orgo isn't a class you can do with a minimal time commitment and cell bio takes some as well. Why do you need all these extra teaching classes?

You are supposed to maintain a semblance of a social life in college so when you go on interviews you are able to remember what people look like and how to speak to them.
 
So should i keep english and drop the teaching experience? I'm going to take english some other time if I drop... but teaching might be a once in a lifetime (undergraduate) opportunity
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
So should i keep english and drop the teaching experience? I'm going to take english some other time if I drop... but teaching might be a once in a lifetime (undergraduate) opportunity
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what are you, a sophomore, junior?

You can tutor whenever, don't need to do it for credit. You can also TA lab classes; just talk to your science professors that you have already had and done well in their class.

That many credits is a little ridiculous though. Doesn't your school charge you if you go over a certain number?
 
Im a sophomore. All i want to know is if it would be detrimental to only take 8 science hours for just one semester
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
Im a sophomore. All i want to know is if it would be detrimental to only take 8 science hours for just one semester
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Those classes with that many other hours, yes it would be detrimental to you as a person, if not your GPA. I doubt you really care about anything but your grade though.

Don't kill your social life though. You'll need and regret it later.
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
But, how are med schools going to view my situation, when my only science classes for the semester are ochem and cell biology?
Click to expand...

The vast majority will not care as long as you do well.
 
Haha i mean detrimental to applying to med schools.. Will they view this as a bad thing? Only taking two science courses?
 
Wow. And here I thought 18 credit hours were insane. Well anyway, if your sanity returns and you decide on cutting back I would generally advise about 15-16 credit hours per semester, especially if your taking orgo.
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
Haha really? Maybe im just crazy. Thanks, i think ill drop English.
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it depends if you're a science major (which the majority of pre-meds are), if so it's suggested that you take 2 sciences out of 4 classes total. If you're not a science major, well this doesn't really apply.
 
The advisors at my school (who generally seem to have their heads screwed onto their shoulders right, though I'm not licensed to diagnose for that yet 🙄) have said that they like to see that you can handle 3 science classes at once for some period of time (like a year or two) and 2 science classes at once for some larger period of time.

20 credits of anything looks pretty sharp, IMHO.
 
I am a science major.. Thats why im concerned lol. I mean i count ochem lecture and lab as a single class but i guess they're technically separate
 
Hastur said:
The advisors at my school (who generally seem to have their heads screwed onto their shoulders right, though I'm not licensed to diagnose for that yet 🙄) have said that they like to see that you can handle 3 science classes at once for some period of time (like a year or two) and 2 science classes at once for some larger period of time.

20 credits of anything looks pretty sharp, IMHO.
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😱, that seems like too much to handle (especially if it's biology--too much to commit to memory)
 
Neurosis said:
it depends if you're a science major (which the majority of pre-meds are), if so it's suggested that you take 2 sciences out of 4 classes total. If you're not a science major, well this doesn't really apply.
Click to expand...

I believe that suggestion is more to finish your science degree in a timely manner.


OP, I don't think anyone is going to fault you for not taking a certain number of science classes in a given semester if you're maintaining a certain credit load. 23 is a ridiculous load, I know because I did that one summer. Although credits don't always correlate well with the amount of work required because my craziest semester ever was when I only took 13 credits. It also might depend on how your other semesters wind up. Maybe heavy on non-science stuff this semester, heavier on science the next.

What's the push for you to take so many at once?

I'd look over the syllabi for the courses and evaluate the amount of homework, exams, papers, etc. Talk to friends who've taken the courses and then decide what workload will be most manageable. Drop accordingly. I don't see anyone calling your ability to handle a tough workload into question because you didn't have enough "academic" or "science courses." You're trying to meet the requirements for a scholarship and perform well to achieve your med school goal. That's called achieving balance and I'd think that'd be viewed as a good thing.

Personally I'd hold on to the teaching experience and maybe the research opps. if they might be the only chance you have to do those and drop elsewhere.
 
wholeheartedly said:
I believe that suggestion is more to finish your science degree in a timely manner.


OP, I don't think anyone is going to fault you for not taking a certain number of science classes in a given semester if you're maintaining a certain credit load. 23 is a ridiculous load, I know because I did that one summer. Although credits don't always correlate well with the amount of work required because my craziest semester ever was when I only took 13 credits. It also might depend on how your other semesters wind up. Maybe heavy on non-science stuff this semester, heavier on science the next.

What's the push for you to take so many at once?

I'd look over the syllabi for the courses and evaluate the amount of homework, exams, papers, etc. Talk to friends who've taken the courses and then decide what workload will be most manageable. Drop accordingly. I don't see anyone calling your ability to handle a tough workload into question because you didn't have enough "academic" or "science courses." You're trying to meet the requirements for a scholarship and perform well to achieve your med school goal. That's called achieving balance and I'd think that'd be viewed as a good thing.

Personally I'd hold on to the teaching experience and maybe the research opp
s. if they might be the only chance you have to do those and drop elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Wow some of the best advice I've ever received. Thank you so much! I am definitely dropping English now. You rock 🙂
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
Okay, so before you tell me "YOU'RE NUTS"...
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23 hours? You're nuts. I don't care if you're taking "derp" classes either, they're still going to be taking time away from studying by putting you in the classroom and they usually have homework assignments that take further time. So at the very least, they're taking away time from your academic courses.

My dad is a pretty smart guy and he did 21 hours one semester, mind you they were mostly engineering classes, he told me he learned he would never do that ever again.

I only ever did 18 hours of mostly science classes and that semester felt awful. Don't do 23 hours. just don't.
 
Do it if you can keep a 4.0, otherwise don't. Med schools don't care as long as you did well and finished the pre-reqs.
 
Eric01 said:
23 hours? You're nuts. I don't care if you're taking "derp" classes either, they're still going to be taking time away from studying by putting you in the classroom and they usually have homework assignments that take further time. So at the very least, they're taking away time from your academic courses.

My dad is a pretty smart guy and he did 21 hours one semester, mind you they were mostly engineering classes, he told me he learned he would never do that ever again.

I only ever did 18 hours of mostly science classes and that semester felt awful. Don't do 23 hours. just don't.
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Okay okay, I get your point.. however, I did take 21 and get a 4.0!
 
Would it be difficult to take English another semester and not have it affect you negatively? If so I'd drop it and keep the teaching experiences.
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
Haha i mean detrimental to applying to med schools.. Will they view this as a bad thing? Only taking two science courses?
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Ugh, no. How many courses are you "supposed" to take?

You're trying to kill yourself, and it's pretty stupid. Back off.
 
CityLights said:
Would it be difficult to take English another semester and not have it affect you negatively? If so I'd drop it and keep the teaching experiences.
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What?

English Comp (code for: "writing") is one of the easiest classes in undergraduate.

I noticed no appreciable difference in difficulty between writing 121 and writing for critical thinking 355. Most college students write like they're one of the infinite epileptic monkies trying to slam out Hamlet with their faces. Their writing was terrible freshman year, and it was terrible junior year too.

If you can stick to the Intro+thesis, 3 paragraph body, thesis+conclusion format, use good conventions, and not write like you're chatting to the professor on an iPhone...writing classes are total cake.

Never take more than two "hard" science classes concurrently, it's just a recipe for badness.
 
Lindsayvarkula said:
Okay okay, I get your point.. however, I did take 21 and get a 4.0!
Click to expand...

Well, then what's the issue? If you were satisfied with the time allowance of a 21-credit-hour load and performed to your satisfaction, go for it.

But also keep in mind that college is a time to have fun, so make sure you leave some time for other things.
 
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